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26 July, 2012

My winter palette: Plums, berries and wine

I'm a fan of classic makeup shades and I'm really embracing the wine and burgundy lips that are trending at the moment. I'm not much of a bronzer wearer - I embrace the pale! - so I've always turned to the darker lip shades in winter because I find they're a flattering contrast to my paler winter complexion. And of course that translates to the nail colours I choose too.

Blackened reds, berries and plums just look so right in winter worn everywhere really so this post is dedicated to my love of these shades. I've had a little fun diving into my own collection and I'm sure I could have posted even more but these are the makeup items I found whilst doing a 'power shop' of my stash! Stand by for lots of swatching...

Lips

Presented and swatched from left to right:

MAC Satin Lipstick (Rebel) - Is it berry? Is it plum? Is it beet? MAC has described it as a midtonal cream plum. I don't know how to best describe it but I love this deep but vibrant shade of lipstick so much this is my second tube. Click here for my original rave.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick (Wine With Everything) - A classic deep wine creme finish lippy. I've had it for ages and just rediscovered it when I was going through my stash a few months back. A good shade to replicate the burgundy thing happening with lips at the moment.

Bloom Lip Gloss (Tint) - Looks burgundy in the tube but translates as a sheer berry on the lips.

L'Oreal Glam Shine Reflexion Gloss (Sheer Cassis) - Not very sheer really, but a rather opaque plum gloss with a hint of shimmer and sparkle. I like it layered over lipstick for added impact with an evening look.

Eyes

Presented clockwise from bottom left and swatched from left to right:

MAC Shale - I've been using this eyeshadow so much this winter I'm surprised I haven't yet hit pan. It's such a versatile, almost neutral mauvey-plum which I'll use subtly as a crease accent or more dramatically all over my lids. Definitely on high rotation at the moment and I can see myself getting a backup in future.

MAC Cranberry - One of my newer MAC's and I bought it when I was going through a complete berry obsession at the end of autumn/fall. It's described by MAC as a reddish plum with a pink shimmer but it looks more warm toned to me, with a tendency towards copper rather than pink. It's an after dark eye colour for me, and I'll wear it toned down so I don't look red eyed anchored with a strong black liner, some dark shadow and a truckload of mascara!

L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow (Burning Black) - Wow! A blackened burgundy eyeshadow and another one for daring after dark looks or it can be used as an eyeliner. Very pigmented so a light hand is needed or it can be a nightmare to blend out.

MAC Powerpoint Eyeliner pencil (Bordeauxline) - My go to plum eyeliner pencil because it contrasts with the green in my eyes. I use it every other day as an alternative to brown or black. Looks great partnered with Shale.

Cheeks

NYX Mosaic Powder Blush (Plummy) - This is the sole plum blush I own and probably only because it's not too plummy or dark! I swirl all of the colours in the pan together for a very natural flushed cheek look. However, and this is a significant however, the powder has a really strong "chalky" smell which makes me want to look a bit closer at the composition of it.

Nails

Presented and swatched (terribly, sorry due to bad lighting) from left to right:

Revlon Autumn Berry - Deep plum/burgundy with a subtle gold shimmer. Even though it's a very dark shade the gold shimmer lifts it out of being too vampy. It was one of the first ever polishes I swatched on this blog (see some cute amateur swatching here ) and I think it's worthy of a reswatch once my nails grow out of their current nubbin stage.

OPI Bastille My Heart - From one of OPI's chicest collections, La Collection De France. It's a dark berry red creme with a very subtle shimmer. Again, I NEED to wear this one!!

Australis Vampy - Another berry shade. Vampy is a bit of a peculiar name for this shade because it's a pretty berry red creme, with a hint of glitter. I'll need to wear this one on a sunny day to show you how cute it actually is, but still seasonally appropriate for colder weather!

I bought Shale on the recommendation of the MAC MUA and I was a bit dubious at first but now I absolutely love it! It's one of my favourite MAC shades because it is so surprisingly versatile. I can see myself hitting pan with this one for sure :) xo

I can't wait to buy Forbidden Burgundy - It looks so utterly fabulous on you! I don't think dark polishes are ever out of season. There's always some variation that works and burgundy's such a classic anyway :) xo

Oh man, this has me stupidly excited for fall! I love dark dramatic colours. Looks like I need to secure L'Oreal Infallible in Burning Black - and Revlon Wine With Everything used to be a favourite shade a LOOOONG time ago. I was such a sophisticated 14 year-old, lol.

Oh wow, wearing vampies when you were 14??? I'm in total awe of you Liz - I was still wearing bubblegum lipgloss at that age. I was more adventurous with my eye makeup and rocked an electric blue liner (and matching mascara), lol!